May Day

In Union Square, immigrants and their supporters are beginning to gather on the park’s esplanade for a May Day rally and march. A second group of marchers descended upon the square from Broadway at about 2pm, as pedestrians and smiling workers from neighboring stores looked on.

Eight news vans have gathered alongside Union Square West and women pushing small carts filled with a variety of flags milled about the crowd (and seem to be doing great business). By this reporter’s estimation there are a few hundred people chanting and waving mostly American flags within the NYPD barricades set up for the rally. The police presence does not seem to have caught up to the number of participants quite yet, as the rally isn’t scheduled to begin there until 4pm.